Using the Instant Pot is the BEST way to make PERFECT soft boiled eggs. With Instant Pot Soft Boiled Eggs, the egg whites are perfectly set, yet the yolk is runny! These pressure cooker soft boiled eggs are the perfect complement to so many dishes.
Perfect Soft Boiled Eggs
When it comes to coloring eggs, hard-boiled eggs are a must.
But when it comes to topping ramen, rice, or avocado toast, soft boiled eggs are the only way to go.
And with a few adjustments in cooking time Instant Pot Eggs, you are guaranteed to get FOOL-PROOF medium or soft boiled eggs every single time. The egg whites will be perfectly set and white, and the egg yolks will have to be golden and runny. And when you make eggs in the Instant Pot, peeling the shells off these soft boiled eggs is a breeze.
The perfect technique for cooking soft boiled eggs in the pressure cooker requires very little work and very little time.
- Approximately 5 minutes to come to pressure
- 2-3 minutes cook time
- Quick-release immediately.
- Followed by an ice bath.
How to Cook Soft Boiled Eggs in Pressure Cooker
- Place 1 cup of water in the inner pot of pressure cooker (liquid is ALWAYS needed for the pressure cooker to be able to reach pressure.)
- ONLY use 1 cup of water for the 6 quart and 1 1/2 cups for the 8 quart. Any more water will take longer to come to pressure, overcooking your soft boiled eggs.
- Place eggs in egg rack or carefully on top of the rack that the Instant Pot came with.
- Seal pressure cooker.
- Set cook time to 3 minutes.
- Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and cold water.
- After cook time has elapsed, immediately release pressure, by using a wooden spoon or tongs to knock the valve from sealing to venting.
- Carefully, remove eggs from the pressure cooker and place them in an ice bath. Eggs are VERY hot, so use potholders or tongs if your fingers aren’t made of steel!
- After eggs have been in an ice bath, until cool enough to handle (3-5 minutes), remove eggs from the ice bath.
- Peel and enjoy your PERFECT soft boiled eggs.
Medium Boiled Eggs
If you would like your eggs set up a bit more than soft boiled eggs, but not quite as much as hard-boiled eggs, follow the following cook time suggestions. This method has left me with egg yolks that are partially set, with a bit of runny yolk.
- Cook for 3 minutes on high pressure.
- Let pressure release naturally for 5 minutes.
- Remove eggs from pressure cooker and place in an ice-water bath.
- Remove from ice bath once cool enough to handle, about 3-5 minutes.
Storing Soft Boiled Eggs
- Unlike hard-boiled eggs, soft boiled eggs are best used right away and MUST be used immediately after cutting open.
- If you are not using right away, place un-peeled soft boiled eggs in the fridge and store for up to 24 hours.
Instant Pot Basic Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
- Instant Pot Yogurt
- Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
- Instant Pot Quinoa
- Instant Pot Beans
Instant Pot Soft Boiled Eggs
Ingredients
- 12 large eggs
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Place 1 cup water inside inner pot of a 6-quart pressure cooker or 1.5 cups in an 8 quart instant pot. Add trivet or egg rack.
- Carefully place eggs on trivet or in egg rack. You can make as few or as many eggs as you desire.
- Seal the pressure cooker, ensuring the vent knob is pointed towards sealed.
- Set cook time to 3 minutes on high pressure--push the manual button and adjust timer to 3 minutes.
- While eggs are cooking, prepare an ice bath by placing several cups of ice into a large bowl and filling with cold water.
- Once cook time has elapsed, immediately, release pressure in Instant Pot by using wooden spoon or tongs to knock vent knob to vent position for Soft Boiled Eggs, let pressure release for 5 minutes for Medium Boiled Eggs.
- Using tongs, or pot holders, carefully remove eggs from pressure cooker and place in ice bath.
- Leave eggs in ice bath until cool enough to handle.
- Use immediately or store in fridge, unpeeled for up to 24 hours.
Equipment Needed
Notes
Thanks for directions. Very helpful.
great tips. loved the vegetable broth. will make some as soon as i have enough peels.
even the potato and quinoa recipes are very usefl.
I am so glad you found my tips and recipe to be helpful for you Desiree! I hope you enjoy many recipes that you find here.
Why do soft boiled eggs have to be used within 24 hours? I like to cook for the week.
Hi Sharon! I understand wanting to batch cook. I personally prepare hard boiled eggs for the week. Soft boiled eggs can grow bacteria quicker (since egg yolk is not fully cooked) and the texture changes. I have read that some say safe to keep for 3 days, personally, I ere on the side of caution.
My wife and I love soft cooked eggs, but rarely have them due to the time they take usually. Thanks to this new recipe we found, we are able to have them more often and a lot easier and faster to say the least. Thank you for printing this out for everyone.
I am so glad you had success with this Howard! I am glad it is saving you and your wife time as well.
Thank you for this recipe. I just got an 8Qt Duo Evo IP and had no clue how to use it, much less recipes. The recipe came out perfect.
I am so glad you had success EK
I did leave in ice bath for 5 minutes and the shell was still just a tiny bit hard to peel, so 2 eggs split in 1/2 while in the middle of peeling, but the yolks didn’t open, so still rinsed the tiny shell pieces that were left, placed on a paper towel and then simply reheated in microwave and placed on my toast, very delicious. Haven’t been able to master soft boiled yet (I realize now it was because I didn’t quick release and shock in an ice bath) I found your site and plan on trying more things in my instant pot. Ham is up next in a couple of weeks! thank you for your recipes and doing the hard research for us!
I am so glad this recipe worked for you Pamela! I hope you enjoy many more recipes on my site 🙂
I tried your recipe but my eggs came out not done enough meaning the whites were not cooked through and the shell stuck to eggs. I followed the recipe exactly for soft boiled eggs. Eggs are refrigerated and fresh from the store. I’m not sure what’s going on?
Hi Danielle! I would try again but let your eggs come to room temperature first. And then be sure to use cold water in your pressure cooker–if you use warm or luke warm, that will change the cook time.
The recipe says 12 eggs but the photo shows 6. Is the timing etc all the same for 6 eggs?
The timing is the same regardless of how many eggs you use 🙂
It definitely isn’t the same. I tried doing 48 eggs on for 0 minutes high pressure and they are all ruined impossible to Peel. (was for catering) it took too long to get to temp I guess. Going to try 12 next to see
I am sorry you had issues Roberto. 48 eggs fit into your pressure cooker on a rack–that is a lot. Also my directions were for 5 minutes on high pressure, not zero. So that is a big difference as well.
We have our own farm raised chickens that provide us with wonderful fresh eggs. In the past, no matter what I tried was I able to peel eggs without loosing lots of the white. I’m really looking forward to trying them in my new instant pot. I will use some just picked eggs and some that have been in refrigerator for about a week or so.
Oh I hope that this solves the issue for you Bonnie! Farm fresh eggs are amazing, but difficult to peel for sure. I purchased some from a local farmer that worked perfectly for me, hope the same is true for you.
The first time I made these they were really good, and yesterday I threw away 4 eggs that I could not peel. I think I may have not left them in the ice water long enough. My question is, when they sit in the ice water for 3-5 minutes, do the eggs get cold?
Hi Patricia. I am sorry a few of your eggs had issues with peeling–it may have been that you did not soak them long enough. And the eggs are luke warm after this shock, but not cold 🙂
Thanks for sharing this! I have a great fear of runny whites in my eggs 😂 I used your times for medium boiled and they were a great compromise for my hubs and me! I will be brave and reduce the natural release time on my next attempt. Baby steps!!
LOL!!! I COMPLETELY understand Karen (and truth be told, my husband likes soft and I eat medium or hard boiled eggs!!)